Seeing the World Through Rose-Colored Glasses

by Dr. Sheila Randolph

The words on the page swirl, twist, rotate, race to the edge of the page, or even disappear. The constant movement of the text causes eye strain, which soon evolves into a headache. Rubbing weary eyes, the reader closes the book; s/he is exhausted and drained. The reading session is over, and this scenario may well have lasted less than five or ten minutes.

This is what reading is like for someone who struggles with a perceptual dysfunction identified as Fluorescent Light Sensitivity (FLS). Persons affected with FLS are sensitive to glare, brightness, and especially fluorescent lighting. Most especially troublesome are reflective or glossy pages, such as those found in magazines and most math, science or history textbooks, as these readers are unable to accommodate black/white contrast in such reading contexts. For those who endure FLS, reading is a laborious task.

Persons with FLS report that they deal with fatigue and acute discomfort, require frequent breaks, and become drowsy or restless. They also have to put more energy and effort into the reading process because they are inefficient readers. Slow reading rate, poor reading comprehension, inefficient reading and the inability to do continuous reading are also symptomatic of the dysfunction. FLS affects reading and writing tasks, attention span, motivation and/or work production.

Symptoms of FLS are not detected by standard visual examinations, standard medical examinations, educational evaluations, or psychological evaluations. When undiagnosed, those affected by FLS might be analyzed as underachievers, or said to have motivational, attitudinal or behavioral problems. Most persons with the dysfunction appear bright and articulate, but often fail to produce work at what is considered an “appropriate” level, and are thus often misdiagnosed as learning disabled. But FLS is not a learning disability in the traditional sense; it does, however, often co-exist with learning difficulties. FLS is frequently found in combination with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), or hyperactivity.

Scientists have not yet determined the cause for FLS, but I see it as a “chicken and egg” dilemma: I am uncertain as to whether fluorescent lighting causes the problem, or whether the lighting just aggravates an already existing condition. Without getting technical, let’s just say that those who have FLS are blinded by too much light hitting the retina. Without correction, the condition is similar to trying to read on the beach in bright sunlight, without shade or sunglasses.

For ten years I have been researching FLS, reading reports from opticians, medical doctors and learning disabilities specialists. Additionally, I conduct research myself, using the students in my college writing classes as my subjects. Click on the Characteristics tab to see what I have discovered.

Characteristics of FLS:

General Reading Characteristics

Reading in dim lighting
Skipping words or lines
Hesitant reading
Deteriorating reading
Poor reading comprehension
Slow reading rate
Inability to read continuously
Misreading words
Trouble tracking (or keeping place)
Avoidance of reading

Complaints While Reading

General strain or fatigue
Headaches or nausea
Drowsiness
Eye strain
Indistinct print
Uncomfortably bright background

General Writing Characteristics

Writing up or downhill
Unequal spacing
Errors when copying
Inconsistent spelling
Missing words
Patterned spelling errors

General Math Characteristics

Sloppy, careless errors
Misaligned numbers in columns

Who Has FLS?

Between 12-24% of the general population have FLS
Approximately 32% of the college population have FLS
About 46% of persons with learning disabilities also have FLS

Who is at Risk?

Anyone who works in fluorescent lighting
Anyone who attends schools with fluorescent lighting
Anyone with a learning disability